Quote of the week
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world”. John Muir


To read the latest Florida Raptor News, the publication for the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, click here



Mike Sole resigns as Fla. environmental chief
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Mike Sole has resigned as secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Sole, who also led the state's response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, submitted his resignation Monday to Gov. Charlie Crist.

Crist appointed Mimi Drew, the agency's deputy secretary of regulatory programs, as an interim replacement for Sole when he leaves next month. Crist said Sole plans to pursue other opportunities that weren't specified.

Sole worked his way up through the ranks at the agency, serving as deputy secretary for regulatory programs and energy before taking over the department in 2007.

He is a former Marine and veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Governor Crist’s statement on Mike Sole’s departure“For more than 20 years, Secretary Sole has shown tremendous leadership in safeguarding one of Florida’s greatest assets – our beautiful natural environment. During his time at the helm of the Department of Environmental Protection, he has championed Florida’s Everglades restoration, including expanding our efforts to the northernmost parts of an ecosystem that is essential to the water quality of millions of Floridians, as well as the vital estuary of Florida Bay.

“Mike has also been instrumental in Florida’s first efforts to address climate change by increasing state government’s energy efficiency and reliance on alternative fuels such as solar energy and ethanol. He also worked to pass groundbreaking bipartisan energy legislation that set Florida on its first steps to diversify the state’s energy sources, promote energy conservation and efficiency, and spur economic growth.

“As the point person for Florida’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Mike has demonstrated unwavering commitment and invaluable insight into what actions must be taken. Now that the well is close to being capped permanently, we wish Mike well as he leaves next month to pursue other opportunities. We wish him the very best in his new endeavors.”

Upcoming Birding events as published in Birder’s World

Birding on the Boardwalk
Port Aransas, TX 12/16/2009 - 12/16/2010
19th Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival
Sierra Vista, AZ 08/04/2010 - 08/08/2010
12th Annual Kern River Valley Hummingbird Celebration
Weldon, CA 08/07/2010
Sharon Audubon Festival
Sharon, CT 08/14/2010 - 08/15/2010
Montezuma Muckrace
Savannah, NY 09/10/2010 - 09/11/2010
2010 Hummer/Bird Celebration
Rockport, TX 09/16/2010 - 09/19/2010
Wings 'n Water Festival
Stone Harbor, NJ 09/17/2010 - 09/19/2010
Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit
Henderson, KY 09/18/2010 - 11/08/2010
12th Annual Florida Keys Birding and Wildlife Festival
Big Pine Key, FL 09/22/2010 - 09/26/2010
Monterey Bay Birding Festival
Watsonville, CA 09/23/2010 - 09/26/2010
16th Annual Kern River Valley Autumn Nature & Vulture Festival
Weldon, CA 09/25/2010
Block Island Birding Weekend
New Shoreham, RI 10/01/2010 - 10/03/2010
Bridger Raptor Festival
Bozeman, MT 10/08/2010 - 10/10/2010
The John L. Borom Alabama Coastal Birdfest
Baldwin and Mobile Counties, AL 10/14/2010 - 10/17/2010
2010 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest
Berkeley, CA 10/15/2010 - 10/16/2010
21st Annual “Ding” Darling Days
Sanibel Island, FL 10/17/2010 - 10/23/2010
New Jersey Audubon Cape May Autumn Weekend
Cape May Point, NJ 10/29/2010 - 10/31/2010
Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival
Lodi, CA 11/05/2010 - 11/07/2010
14th Annual Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival
Manteo, NC 11/09/2010 - 11/14/2010
Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival
Harlingen, TX 11/10/2010 - 11/14/2010
Waterfowl Festival
Easton, MD 11/12/2010 - 11/14/2010
Everglades Birding Festival
Hollywood, FL 01/12/2011 - 01/17/2011
14th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival
Titusville, FL 01/26/2011 - 01/31/2011
Wings Over the Hills
Fredericksburg, TX 04/29/2011 - 05/01/2011

Birds

Survey: record year for wood stork nests
Georgia surveys of nesting wood storks documented a record year for the big birds with the bald heads. The estimate of more than 2,500 nests far surpasses the some 2,200 counted in 2008, the previous high since aerial nest surveys of the endangered species began in the 1990s.

"The success in Georgia may be linked to the early spring failure rate in the Florida rookeries due to bad weather," said wildlife biologist Tim Keyes of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section.

"When these colonies failed, many birds probably moved north and re-nested. We know this occurred by tracking two tagged birds that attempted to nest in the Everglades in early spring, and have since moved into two different Georgia rookeries — one on St. Simons Island and one near Camilla — with some birds moving north."

The state’s largest rookery, at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge near Eulonia, had 478 nests. Gilman rookery in St. Marys ranked second with an estimated 300 nests. There are 26 rookeries total across eight counties, from Glynn to Mitchell.

High water levels earlier in the season when the storks were establishing nests contributed to the record estimate. Productivity also will likely be higher than last year, when cold, wet weather hit before chicks were large enough to thermo-regulate, or regulate their body temperature.

Keyes said this year’s weather has been more favorable and he is hoping for a large number of fledglings.


Where to go to see hawks
In April and May, Birder’s World Magazine asked their readers to tell their favorite places in North America to see hawks. More than 2,100 readers responded, casting more than 5,900 votes for 207 hawk hotspots. Their 25 favorite places are listed below.

Everglades National Park, Corkscrew Swamp and Myakka State Park are Florida locations that made the list.

1. Cape May Hawk Watch, NJ
2. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, PA
3. Everglades NP, FL
4. Hawk Ridge and West Skyline Hawk Count, MN
5. Yellowstone NP, WY
6. Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
7. Grand Canyon NP, Lipan Point and Yaki Point, AZ
8. Corkscrew Swamp, FL
9. Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, CA
10. My backyard
11. Dauphin Island, AL
12. Point Pelee, ON
13. Skagit River Delta, WA
14. Grand Teton NP, WY
15. Klamath Basin, OR and CA
16. Pocono Mountains, PA
17. Boundary Bay, BC
18. Whitefish Point, MI
19. Big Bend NP, TX
20. Chimney Rock Hawk Watch, NJ
21. Muskegon Hawkwatch, MI
22. Sandy Hook Migration Watch, NJ
23. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley SP, TX
24. Sacramento NWR, CA
25. Myakka River SP, FL

A summary of changes to the check-list of North American birds
Get ready for another revision to your favorite field guide! The American Ornithologists' Union has just completed a breathtaking reorganization of its authoritative Check-list of North American Birds. Fifteen species were added, including a new scoter, whip-poor-will, and wren -- bringing the number of species on the list to 2,070. Associate Editor Matt Mendenhall has studied the changes and written a fascinating summary of everything you need to know.

Click here to read his report

First sighting of purple heron chicks confirm UK wildlife first
Many wildlife watchers 'rejoice' when new species are seen in the UK, and often people flock to see the species in question. Whether Queen of Spain Fritillary that started breeding in Sussex last year, Purple herons or increased sighting of certain whale and dolphin species, we all get very excited. Yet many of the same people actively campaign against global warming.

Is Purple heron news good or bad as it is further evidence of global warming?July 2010. It's a sight wildlife lovers have been waiting for - the first purple heron chick ever to be raised successfully in the UK has taken its first flight and is learning to fend for itself.One chick has been seen flying around the RSPB's Dungeness nature reserve in Kent, and wildlife enthusiasts are celebrating the monumental breeding success.This is the first chick to venture out of the nest so far but it is believed there is at least one more to come. The adult male is still visiting the nest site every few hours with food and the female remains largely unseen - as she has done ever since the eggs were laid. A daily watch is being continued to report any further sightings.

Read the article

Puffin thugs attacking chicks underground
An underground camera revealed a darker side to the nation's favorite seabird
The behavior of nesting puffins is hard to monitor as they raise their young out of sight in burrows. But since spring, thousands of people have been following a puffin chick at RSPB Scotland's Sumburgh Head nature reserve via a webcam broadcasting live images of its burrow; and even the experts have been surprised by the behavior of the comical birds.

The chick's survival at times has been uncertain as not only has the youngster been fed a rather poor diet, but it now seems to have been the victim of brutal attacks - by other puffins! On at least six occasions, a fully-grown puffin was spotted entering the burrow and pecking, kicking and attacking the vulnerable youngster.

The exact cause of the attacks is unclear, but it is believed that the attacking birds may be non-breeders who, unlike breeding birds, spend a lot of their time above ground, getting to know themselves and wandering into burrows.

Read more

WWT begins breeding project to save endangered waders
WWT has begun work on a groundbreaking new project to perfect the process of breeding waders as part of its conservation breeding program.

The project is currently focused on hatching and rearing two wader species - the ruff and the dunlin. Its goal is to research and test breeding methods on these birds so that, should the day come when conservation breeding is the only lifeline for an endangered wader species, WWT is prepared.

Wading birds are particularly vulnerable as tidal wetlands around the world are squeezed by rising sea levels and inland waters are altered for power and flood protection.

23 species of wader are now globally red listed (vulnerable, endangered or critical) and a further 20 species have reached near threatened status, two of which are UK birds the black-tailed godwit and Eurasian curlew. Three wader species have been lost entirely in recent history and the slender-billed curlew is either on the brink or already extinct.

Read more

Invasive species

Potential invasive species – genetically modified crop goes feral
A genetically modified (GM) crop has been found thriving in the wild for the first time in the United States. Transgenic canola is growing freely in parts of North Dakota, researchers told the Ecological Society of America conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, today.

The scientists behind the discovery say this highlights a lack of proper monitoring and control of GM crops in the United States.

US farmers have dramatically increased their use of GM crops since the plants were introduced in the early 1990s. Last year, nearly half the world's transgenic crops were grown in US soil - Brazil, the world's second heaviest user, grew just 16%. GM crops have broken free from cultivated land in several countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, but they have not previously been found in uncultivated land in the United States.

"The extent of the escape is unprecedented," says Cynthia Sagers, an ecologist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, who led the research team that found the canola (Brassica napus, also known as rapeseed).

Sagers and her team found two varieties of transgenic canola in the wild - one modified to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide (glyphosate), and one resistant to Bayer Crop Science's Liberty herbicide (gluphosinate). They also found some plants that were resistant to both herbicides, showing that the different GM plants had bred to produce a plant with a new trait that did not exist anywhere else.

Sagers says the previous discoveries in other countries of transgenic canola populations growing outside of cultivation were often in or near fields used for commercial transgenic canola production. By contrast, her research team found feral populations of herbicide-resistant canola growing along roads, near petrol stations and grocery stores, often at large distances from areas of agricultural production.

The researchers took samples of plants at 8-kilometer intervals along roads in North Dakota from 4 June to 23 July 2010. The number of B. napus plants in each sample plot was counted, and one plant was collected and tested for the presence of proteins that could give it resistance to either of the herbicides.

The team found B. napus at nearly half of the 288 sites tested. Of these, 80% had at least one herbicide-resistant transgene (41% were resistant to Roundup and 40% resistant to Liberty). They also found two plants that contained both transgenes.

Sagers says the discovery of plants that are resistant to both herbicides shows that "these feral populations of canola have been part of the landscape for several generations".

Further studies are needed to establish whether these escaped GM canola plants have any ecological consequences. But those that have evolved resistance to both herbicides could become a weed problem for farmers, adds Sagers. "The regulatory protocols designed to reduce or prevent escape and proliferation of feral transgenic crops are ineffective. Current tracking and monitoring of GM organisms are insufficient," she says. Sagers blames the delay in discovering escaped populations of transgenic plants in the United States largely on the lack of funding for research in this area.

Tom Nickson, head of environmental policy at Monsanto in St Louis, Missouri, told Nature, "Those familiar with canola know that these plants are readily found on roadsides and in areas near farmers' fields. This was true prior to the introduction of GM canola, and a common source is seed that has scattered during harvest and fallen off a truck during transport."

Sagers agrees that feral populations could have become established after trucks carrying cultivated GM seeds spilled some of their load during transportation. She notes that the frequency and population density of GM canola that they found may be biased as they only sampled along roadsides.Alison Snow, an ecologist at Ohio State University in Columbus, says it is not surprising that escaped transgenic plants have now been found in the United States, given that this has already happened elsewhere. The escaped populations "could be a problem if you are worried about herbicide use", she says. A major advantages of herbicide-resistant crops is that non-selective herbicides can be used, reducing the number of applications needed. But if transgenic crops escape and breed with related weed species, then that advantage could be eroded and different and more herbicides might have to be used.

Florida Panthers

Panther recovering from vehicle collision injuries
Sometime in the early morning hours Tuesday, a female panther was struck by a vehicle on State Road 29 near Immokalee in Collier County. A passing motorist saw the injured animal on the side of the road, and in less than an hour biologists and a law enforcement officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) were on the scene performing triage and assessing the condition of the panther.

“She was alive and responsive,” said Darrell Land, FWC panther team leader. “We immobilized the animal and transported her to Golden Gate Animal Clinic in Naples, where veterinarian John Lanier discovered she was pregnant and carrying at least three mid-term kittens.”

After the panther was stabilized, Erin Myers, a veterinarian with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Mark Lotz, a member of the FWC’s panther team, transported her to the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, where veterinarians announced some good and some bad news. The panther would survive; however, the unborn kittens did not survive the trauma from the accident.

Land said that without a doubt the panther had been hit by a vehicle in an area where other panthers have been killed when struck by vehicles. This panther will survive, but others have not been so fortunate. Fourteen panthers have died so far this year on Florida roadways.

“When traveling in panther country between dusk and dawn, it is extremely important that motorists drive with caution,” Land said. “Panthers are active during this time, and these roads go right through their habitat.”

The panther population has increased steadily since the 1980s, when the population had dwindled to 20-30. Its increase to a current estimate of at least 100 is a success story, but one tempered with the knowledge that an increasing population means more opportunity for vehicle collisions. The natural expansion of the panther population means that panther sightings may start to increase throughout Florida, however, the majority of the population still resides south of Lake Okeechobee.

Land urges motorists to report injured or dead panthers to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

The injured panther will be taken to White Oak Plantation, a private wildlife conservation center in North Florida, where she will remain until ready to be released back into the wild.

There are several ways to help the Florida panther. The Wildlife Foundation of Florida established a fund to aid in the recovery of injured or orphaned Florida panthers as well as other conservation needs. This fund goes directly to the FWC to assist with rare and unanticipated events. To donate, go to www.wildlifeflorida.org and click on “Programs.” Panther research and management funding comes directly from the additional fees collected when individuals purchase the “Protect the Florida panther” specialty license plate. Money also goes to law enforcement to increase patrols in the areas where panthers reside in South Florida. To purchase a specialty license plate, visit www.buyaplate.com.

“We can all assist with helping the panther survive,” Land said. “Buy a specialty plate to help fund research, management and enforcement or make a donation to the foundation. Most of all, slow down in panther territory. All of that will benefit Florida’s state animal, the endangered panther.”

To find out more about the Florida panther, visit www.floridapanthernet.org.

Endangered Species

Collaborative relocation project bodes well for recovery of prairie species
From the outside, it looked like a simple matter of moving animals from one place to another. But for Defenders of Wildlife’s Rocky Mountain Representative Jonathan Proctor, it was a precedent-setting triumph for wildlife conservation on America’s National Grasslands.

Proctor worked 16-hour shifts for seven straight days this July, helping trap 120 prairie dogs and relocating them to a protected area within Thunder Basin National Grassland in eastern Wyoming. Thus began a unique collaborative partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Game and Fish, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and fellow prairie dog experts from the Humane Society of the United States, World Wildlife Fund and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance to relocate hundreds of prairie dogs from the periphery of this protected area to their new home at its center.

Prairie dogs are a “keystone” species of the Great Plains. They once numbered in the millions, or even billions, and provided abundant food and shelter for numerous other species of wildlife. But by the early 1900s, less than five percent remained as a result of plowing, poisoning, exotic disease and shooting. Prairie dogs live in colonies that once covered 10 to 20 percent of the Great Plains, but today these colonies cover less than one percent.

This relocation project will take 45 days to complete. By the end, the team hopes to relocate nearly all the prairie dogs from two small colonies containing more than 1,000 prairie dogs to create new colonies. These squirrel-like critters will be taken from 100 acres at the edge of Thunder Basin, where they are frequently poisoned by ranchers on adjoining private lands, to an interior part of the grassland that is totally protected. This 45,000-acre interior section, called the Rosecrans area, once accommodated roughly 18,000 acres of prairie dog colonies that was home to about 180,000 prairie dogs.

However, this complex of prairie dog colonies was largely wiped out in 2001 following an epidemic of sylvatic plague – an exotic disease that entered North America in the 1900s. As a result, Thunder Basin National Grassland also lost most of the wildlife that benefits from prairie dog colonies, including burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, golden and bald eagles, swift fox, badgers and many others.

This monumental restoration effort marks the very first time that prairie dogs have been moved on federal grasslands rather than poisoned. The project was only made possible by a newly adopted prairie dog management plan for Thunder Basin that prioritizes nonlethal methods of controlling wildlife conflicts. Defenders of Wildlife worked for several years to encourage the Forest Service to take this approach, organizing our members and playing a vital role in the stakeholder process. Since the adoption of the new plan at the end of 2009, the Forest Service has been a key partner in restoring this important species instead of poisoning them.

Reade more

Good news for Greater Yellowstone wolves
On the afternoon of August 6, 2010, we received some great news: As a result of a lawsuit brought in federal court by Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups, wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies are again protected under the Endangered Species Act.A federal judge in Montana sided with Defenders and other conservation groups, overturning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to remove gray wolves in the Northern Rockies from the endangered species list.This is incredible news that will save the lives of hundreds of wolves that would have otherwise been targeted and killed in hunts this fall. And it opens the door to developing a science-based plan that will ensure wolf recovery continues in the Northern Rockies.

This legal decision is not only a win for wolves, but also for science-based conservation -- the judge clearly ruled that recovery decisions for our most vulnerable wildlife must be based on science, not politics.Although this victory means that wolves in the Northern Rockies will regain federal protections, the fight for their recovery is far from over.

Learn more about the wolves of the Rockies and what you can do to help

This from the Natural Resources Defense Council
It's fantastic news! Yesterday a federal court ruled in our favor and restored endangered species protection to wolves in Montana and Idaho! The ruling effectively returns ALL wolves in the Northern Rockies to the endangered species list and puts a halt to the wolf hunts that were planned for this fall, starting next month.

As you know, the states' management of wolves has taken a terrible toll over the past year and a half. Since the Obama Administration stripped these wolves of federal protection, more than 500 of them have been gunned down by hunters or government agents.In response, NRDC -- in partnership with Earthjustice and 13 other conservation groups -- sued the government in federal court and demanded endangered species protection for all 1,700 wolves across the Northern Rockies until their population is able to fully recover. A federal judge agreed, saying that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted illegally when it removed wolves from the endangered species list in Idaho and Montana but left them on the list in Wyoming, splitting the population along political, rather than biological, lines.

FWC rescuing oil-impacted sea turtles with help from Gulf fishermen
Although the effects of the oil spill are decreasing in Florida, the threat to wildlife remains. Biologists and commercial charter boat fishermen are teaming up to help oil-impacted sea turtles in the waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

In a cooperative effort with Deepwater Horizon Unified Command and partner agencies, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists rescue sea turtles while gathering data to assess the effects of the oil spill on sea turtle populations.
Weather permitting, two rescue boats depart from Destin each day and head toward the eastern zone of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill area.

FWC biologists are working with captains taking part in the Vessels of Opportunity program. Together, captains, biologists and crews have made several trips into Gulf offshore waters to rescue sea turtles and scientifically documented where turtles are found. Because of their experience getting close to large fish on their lines, these captains already possessed skills that help them maneuver their boats so that biologists can capture the sea turtles with hand-held nets.

Biologists use GPS to record where sea turtles are located, as well as to collect data on environmental conditions at the capture location.

“The methods we are using to find oiled sea turtles will help us understand how many affected sea turtles we are not seeing,” said FWC sea turtle biologist Blair Witherington. “This will give us a better understanding of the total number of turtles exposed to oil. The science is essential to assessing effects from the spill, but this does not overshadow our most important mission, which is to rescue as many oil-impacted sea turtles as we can.”

Rescuers take any oil-impacted sea turtles found off the coast of Northwest Florida to Gulf World in Panama City for rehabilitation.

Rescue efforts in Florida waters are a continuation of work started by the partnership in May offshore of Louisiana. Recently, efforts expanded to Orange Beach, Ala. as well. While conducting work in these three locations, FWC biologists helped rescue nearly 200 oiled sea turtles.

Partner agencies working with the FWC to conduct rescues include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the non-profit Inwater Research Group, based in Jensen Beach.

As part of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, the Vessels of Opportunity program provides local boat operators an opportunity to assist with response activities.

To report sightings of oiled and distressed wildlife in Northwest Florida from Jefferson County through Escambia County, call 866-557-1401. For all other areas of Florida contact the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). For more information on sea turtle conservation, visit MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle.

FWC presents a new system for conserving Florida’s threatened species
Floridians value and love their precious and unique fish and wildlife, particularly those that are imperiled. As the state’s wildlife managers, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) used the public’s concern, in combination with science, to create a process that will lead to the FWC’s desired future, where no Florida species ever goes extinct because of human action or inaction. The FWC engaged stakeholders in the revision of its imperiled species listing process and created a plan that will ensure Florida’s fish and wildlife will be here for future generations to enjoy.

The FWC began the revision because of confusion over how imperiled species were listed. After two and a half years of public meetings and workshops with stakeholders, the process of listing endangered and threatened species in Florida has been streamlined, while continuing to protect these species in Florida. Commissioners will consider the final rules at their September meeting in Pensacola Beach.

“If approved, these rules will set a solid foundation for Florida’s endangered and threatened species while still allowing modification of the process as we implement the plan,” said Dr. Elsa Haubold, leader of the FWC imperiled species listing team. “The FWC is pleased that representatives from all interested stakeholder groups had a voice in creating the new process. We addressed many stakeholder concerns in crafting this system. We will continually review the process, making changes when necessary to address resource needs and concerns of the public while keeping science at the forefront of all decisions.

“We recognize and appreciate the fact that hunters and anglers are some of our strongest partners for conservation,” Haubold said. “While conserving threatened species, the new rules do not change traditional opportunities for sport and recreation in the state.”

Under the new system, all state-listed species will remain on Florida’s list and will be called “threatened.” Federally listed species will automatically go on the federally designated endangered and threatened species list. If the rules are approved, FWC biologists, partnering with independent biologists, will conduct scientific reviews of all species currently on the list.

Their findings will be provided to the Commission to determine if species should remain on the state threatened list. The next step will be a public process to create management plans that contain all the necessary strategies to ensure the status of threatened species in Florida improves. Throughout the process, the FWC will consider and be responsive to public needs and concerns related to the proposed management as the plans are developed.

The proposed final rules will be posted at MyFWC.com on Monday, Aug. 2. As with all issues that come before the Commission, the public can make comment on the final rules at the meeting Sept. 1-3 at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, 12 Via de Luna Dr., Pensacola Beach, FL. The meetings start at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) each day. The full agenda can be found at MyFWC.com/Commission.

Global warming killing off coral in Red Sea:
CT scans reveal coral has been under ‘chronic stress' for ten yearsA major Red Sea coral species is being killed off by global warning, according to the latest study.

As summer sea surface temperatures have remained about 1.5 degrees Celsius above ambient over the past ten years, the growth of the coral - Diploastrea heliopora - has declined by 30 per cent. The scientists, who used CT scans to assess the skeletal health of the coral, suggest that the coral could cease growing altogether by 2070.

‘The warming in the Red Sea and the resultant decline in the health of this coral is a clear regional impact of global warming,' said Neal E. Cantin, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution postdoctoral investigator and co-lead researcher on the project. In the 1980s, he said, ‘the average summer [water] temperatures were below 30 degrees Celsius. In 2008 they were approaching 31 degrees'.

Cantin and the other lead investigator Anne L. Cohen said that although the coral looked healthy, CT scans of its skeletal structure revealed ‘the secrets that the skeletons are hiding'. ‘The CT scans reveal that these corals have actually been under chronic stress for the past ten years, and that the rates of growth were the lowest in 2008,' the final year of the study.

Read the article

Illegal killing of endangered wolves in Arizona
Another endangered Mexican wolf has been found shot dead in Arizona. It is the second adult male of the Hawks Nest Pack to be killed illegally and the third Mexican wolf found dead in a month.

The body was discovered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the north-east of Big Lake, within two miles of where the last Hawks Nest shooting victim was found. The pack traditionally uses the area east of Big Lake on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests as their spring-summer breeding territory. There are now only two females - one breeding, the other a yearling - left to provide food for the pups that were produced this year, thought to be at least seven.

The service also took part in the investigation of a dead cow in the immediate vicinity of the dead wolf. The beast also died as a result of a gunshot wound sometime during the previous 24 hours and was not, at any time, fed upon by Mexican wolves.

‘I am deeply saddened by this news,' said Benjamin Tuggle, the service's Southwest Regional Director. ‘It is hard for me to understand why someone would violate the law so heartlessly by killing one of our nation's endangered species.'

The world's rarest otter photographed in Borneo
A hairy-nosed otter has been caught on a camera trap in the Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah. The hairy-nosed otter has not been recorded in the state of Sabah for over 100 years and not in Borneo since one was killed by a car in 1997. The otter is also known from a very few locations outside of Borneo.

The camera trap photographed 3 different otter species and at first the scientists didn't realize that they had recorded a hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana). They also had images of a smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and an Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus).

The hairy-nosed otter has a flatter, longer head, a white throat and darker fur than its two relatives.

To read the article and see the photo, click here

Everglades and Water Quality Issues

Water managers OK spending $197 million to buy U.S. Sugar land for Everglades
The South Florida Water Management District board this afternoon unanimously approved spending $197 million to buy 28,000 acres form U.S. Sugar to help restore the Everglades.

The vote came in the face of opposition from the Tea Party members, GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott and the Miccosukee Tribe.

Heckling by chairman of the South Florida Tea Party cut short Scott's appearance outside the South Florida Water Management District board meeting this morning.

Although Everett Wilkinson, chairman of the South Florida Tea Party, said the Tea Party opposes the revised Everglades land deal — as does Scott — Wilkinson blasted Scott for not making public a deposition from a lawsuit filed in April against a Solantic, a chain of health care clinics owned by Rick Scott.

"What is in the deposition that he can't release to taxpayers?" asked Wilkinson, who is personally supporting Scott's opponent, Bill McCollum, in the GOP governor primary, though he says his endorsement has nothing to do with the South Florida Tea Party.

Confronted by Wilkinson, Scott took his message inside the lobby of the district's headquarters, where he explained that he, too, opposed the district's plan to buy the land.

Meanwhile, an attorney for the South Florida Water Management District wrote in court papers filed Wednesday afternoon that there is no emergency that would stop the district board from voting on the deal today. The district's filing was in response to an emergency request from the Miccosukee Tribe Tuesday asking that the vote be stopped.

The water managers say the vote will help restore the Everglades and they hope it will appease a federal judge who has ordered state and federal water managers to comply with clean water standards.

The tribe asked Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno to issue an emergency injunction on Tuesday, claiming that if the sale goes through, the district will not have enough money to complete other court-ordered restoration projects. The district is under another court order to comply with federal water standards or face contempt of court.

Among other concerns are human remains found on the largest parcel of land in the sale. According to the board's chairman, Eric Buermann, a single tooth had been found on a 17,000 parcel of land in the proposed sale. However, former district board chairman Mike Collins said he had been told that the remains of three bodies had been discovered on the land and protecting the remains could affect the use of up to 6,000 acres of the property.

Everglades Restoration Momentum Continues with New Federal-State Agreement Building on historic agreements to advance construction on Everglades restoration projects, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently approved another key Project Partnership Agreement to test technology for preserving clean water in Everglades National Park. If proven effective, technology developed during the pilot project will significantly benefit Everglades restoration and water quality improvement efforts in the park as well as beyond its boundaries.

“Working with our federal partners, the State of Florida and the District have been leaders in developing the tools and technology to restore America’s Everglades,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Eric Buermann. “This pilot project promises to significantly advance restoration efforts in Everglades National Park and will provide valuable knowledge to benefit the broad effort to revive the River of Grass.”

Retaining clean water in the Everglades requires controlling and managing seepage of water from the wetlands. This is integral to success of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The L-31 North (L-30) Seepage Management pilot project will help to identify the appropriate technology that will prevent clean water from seeping out of Everglades National Park through South Florida’s porous underground rock layers. A second goal is to help retain clean water in Water Conservation Area 3B in Miami-Dade County — an area of the remnant Everglades, which has the highest seepage rate in the area.

“The pilot project was developed with extensive input from the public and numerous stakeholders,” said Ken Ammon, P.E., SFWMD Deputy Executive Director - Everglades Restoration and Capital Projects. “Experience gained from this project will have far-reaching benefits and moves us closer to achieving restoration goals to protect the Everglades and South Florida’s environment.”

The pilot project will test two structural seepage reduction technologies — specifically, steel sheet pile and a slurry wall — while also testing the ability to seasonally manage seepage flows through pumping operations to create a “hydraulic barrier.”

“Reducing seepage from the Everglades is vital to its restoration, but accomplishing this is no easy task. It’s not simply a matter of installing a wall that stops all easterly flow out of the park,” said Stu Appelbaum, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Deputy for Restoration Program Management. “We have to manage and control for variable flow rates via a system of features. That’s why this pilot test is so important. We’re committed to protecting and restoring the Everglades, so we will look at how different strategies perform before we proceed with larger scale implementation of any strategy.”

The slurry wall technology is similar to the technology now being used by the Corps to reduce seepage from portions of the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
The Project Partnership Agreement allows the Corps to award a contract for construction and testing of the pilot project, at an estimated cost of approximately $9.3 million using federal stimulus funding. The effort was also made possible by the landmark August 2009 Master Agreement between the SFWMD and the Corps.

Laying the groundwork for Everglades restoration for decades to come, the Master Agreement serves as an umbrella accord between the state and federal partners that governs all CERP projects. In turn, each CERP project requires a Project Partnership Agreement. The Master Agreement was also an essential step necessary for the Corps to begin restoration construction with an initial infusion in 2009 of approximately $115 million in congressional appropriations.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is a framework for restoring, protecting and preserving the water resources of central and southern Florida. CERP is a 50-50 partnership between the State of Florida and the federal government. The State of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District have invested approximately $2.4 billion toward this effort, including approximately $300 million in construction.
Through June 30, 2010, 60 percent — or approximately 234,853 acres — of the estimated lands needed to implement CERP have been acquired.
For more information, visit www.sfwmd.gov/everglades. http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xrepository/sfwmd_repository_pdf/nr_2010_0802_l31n_ppa.pdf

U.N. puts Florida’s Everglades back on list of world’s most endangere treasures
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After a three-year controversial absence, the United Nations has put Florida’s Everglades National Park back on its list of the world’s most treasured or endangered sites.

The decision to return the Everglades to the roster of imperiled sites culminates a multi-year push by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and others who have pressed the group that keeps the list, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Their effort began in 2007, after a high-level Bush administration official mysteriously and unilaterally persuaded the international body to drop the park.

There are a total of 910 sites worldwide on a list of places that either are considered unique or threatened. The sites range from the Taj Mahal in India to the Acropolis in Greece to the Old City of Jerusalem – and, in the U.S., from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon National Park to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. Being on the list – and more specifically a subset of the most endangered sites, of which there are 34 - generally makes it easier to get preservation money both from the U.N. and local governments.

“The ‘Glades remains at risk and should’ve never been removed in the first place,” Nelson said today, lauding the U.N. body for its decision that came last Friday. “There’s still a lot that needs to be done to restore the River of Grass.”

Nelson was outspoken after a top Interior Department political appointee was exposed in The St. Petersburg Times for asking the U.N. to remove the Everglades. Nelson blasted the previous administration for faltering on its pledge to restore the River of Grass and called for the firing of the official who made the decision. That official later resigned.

Nelson also wrote to previous Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and then Kempthorne’s replacement, current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. [Letters attached.] He urged both men to support efforts to get the ‘Glades back on the U.N. list. In Salazar, he found an ally.

[Due to their length, these letters have been intentionally omitted from this report. If you wish to read the letters, send a request to conservation@southfloridaaudubon.org and I will send them as an email attachment]

Nelson toured the Everglades with Salazar last year and pointed out how the park still is threatened by high levels of mercury, a decline in endangered species and a dramatic die-off of sea grass in Florida Bay. At Nelson’s urging, Salazar agreed to initiate discussions with the U.N. about restoring the ‘Glades to the World Heritage list.

The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced the decision at its annual meeting in Brasilia, Brazil.

Everglades back on UNESCO threatened list
BRASILIA, Brazil, July 30 (UPI) -- Everglades National Park in Florida was returned Friday to UNESCO's list of threatened World Heritage Sites.

The World Heritage Committee of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said the park is subject to "serious and continuing degradation of its aquatic ecosystem." The Everglades was placed on the list of sites at risk in 1993 because of continued water quality problems and damage from Hurricane Andrew and removed in 2007.

The United States asked for the return of the park to the list and requested an evaluation later this year to help develop a conservation plan.

The Everglades is a unique mix of saw grass prairie, mangrove swamp, tropical hammocks, pine uplands, bay and islands dependent on the "River of Grass" that once flowed unhindered out of Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. Efforts to drain swamps and dig canals for irrigation have interfered with water flow, and the park is also threatened by agricultural chemicals that cause algae blooms, killing marine life.

WATER: House committee passes $6B WRDA bill
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved a $6 billion Water Resources Development Act that authorizes about 300 water projects, almost none of which came from Republicans since their leadership swore off earmarks earlier this year.

Despite the progress on the House side, aides say it remains a long shot that the bill, H.R. 5892, will become law before the end of the year, given the imminent August recess, upcoming elections and slow movement on the issue in the Senate, which has yet to introduce a companion bill or schedule a markup like the one that took place yesterday.

Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), like many other WRDA defenders on both sides of the aisle, disputed that WRDA's contents should be considered "earmarks," since each project must receive money from appropriators before construction can begin.

"Never in the history of this committee have these projects at the Corps of Engineers been considered earmarks," Oberstar said.

In response to a written request from ranking member John Mica (R-Fla.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Oberstar notified Republican committee members that he would disregard their earmark requests. Oberstar noted there was "no precedent for party leadership to act on behalf of, or to override the will of, individual members."

Not all Republicans complied with their leadership's wishes, as Reps. Ahn "Joseph" Cao (R-La.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Henry Brown (R-S.C.) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) all had projects included in the bill.

Cao, for example, won approval for one project of the 52 projects he submitted for consideration: a $100,000 coastal wetlands restoration that a spokesman said he considered essential to the region's recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.

The committee received more than 2,200 project requests, according to Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who co-sponsored H.R. 5892 with Oberstar.

The new WRDA, a law that is supposed to be passed every two years but was last enacted in 2007 and 2000 before that, contains all the usual projects related to waterway navigation, flood control, environmental restoration, shoreline protection and water supply (E&E Daily, July 29).

There was one conspicuous absence in this year's WRDA: projects related to the Everglades, which received significant support in the 2007 bill.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said Everglades projects would not receive funding this year because of the Republican earmark ban, although he noted his disappointment.

"It's a national treasure," he said. "It's a huge priority for this Congress."

The bill did include one legal tweak that pleased Everglades advocates, a fix that would allow continued funding of Kissimmee River restoration, the headwaters of the Everglades, through the expected 2014 completion date.

"The results are just phenomenal," Stuart Appelbaum, Everglades division chief for the U.S. Army Corps Jacksonville District, said of the Kissimmee project.

Wildlife and Habitat

Jarhead: The bear cub that beat the odds
It took 10 days for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists to catch a black bear cub in Marion County that was days away from death. They were ultimately successful, but it took extraordinary efforts from both FWC employees and local residents working together.

The 6-month-old cub, its two siblings and mother were regular visitors to unsecured trash containers in a small community near Weirsdale, in the Ocala National Forest. One day in late July, FWC dispatch got a call from one of the residents concerned about a cub running around with a clear, industrial-size plastic jar stuck on its head. The jar made it almost impossible for the cub to eat or drink.

The FWC’s Mike Orlando, Brian Scheick and Cathy Connolly, and Mike Connolly, a bear-response agent for the agency, knew that if they didn’t catch the cub, affectionately dubbed “Jarhead,” it would die, so they developed a plan to trap it.

“It was a lot easier said than done,” Orlando said. “The residents were really great about calling us when they saw the bears, but it seemed like we were always about 20 minutes behind.”

The team set traps in different areas, hoping to catch the mother and tranquilize her, which would then allow them to catch the cubs. Unfortunately, the good mother bear refused to be tricked by the baited trap.

After eight days of sightings, two days went by when nobody saw the bear family. The team feared the cub may have finally succumbed to his condition. Ironically, the day the team resigned to pull the traps and head home, Orlando got a call from FWC dispatch. A resident had called to report the bear family was back. The team rushed back to the community.

Orlando found the mother and was able to shoot her with a tranquilizer dart. Then Orlando and Scheick literally caught the cubs by surprise and managed to grab Jarhead. But the tough little bear lived up to its U.S. Marine moniker and did not give up without a fight.

Eventually, they subdued the cub long enough to get the jar off its head, and then let it go to rejoin its siblings. The team, with the help of some concerned residents, placed the mother bear’s sleeping body in a trap, and eventually the cubs joined her.

After observing the family overnight in the trap, and making sure it was able to nurse, biologists released the family in a nearby, less populated area.

Although the story appears to have a happy ending, it truly illustrates one of the worst things that can happen when wildlife gets into garbage.

[Editor’s note: It also points to the fact that more and more wildlife species are becoming urbanized as their natural habits are dwindling.]

DEP’s Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve Receives Conservation Grants
PONTE VEDRA BEACH - The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM NERR) announced on Wednesday that three grants were awarded to the Friends of the Reserve, a private non-profit citizen organization established to support and enhance environmental education, stewardship of natural and cultural resources, and scientific research of the GTM NERR.

The grants received will enable the GTM NERR to move forward with conservation and improvement projects.

“Thanks to the successful efforts of the Friends of the Reserve, the GTM NERR is extremely pleased to have the support of the Florida Native Plant Society, the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation and the Nature Conservancy,” said Dr. Mike Shirley, GTM NERR Environmental Administrator. “We will use the awarded funds to help conserve and protect natural and cultural resources and promote science-based stewardship and education strategies.”

Grants awarded are as follows:

The Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to aid in the development of a comprehensive trail plan for future changes and improvements to the trail system within the GTM NERR’s nearly ten miles of trails.

The Florida Native Plant Society has awarded a $1,355 grant to address the growing impact that invasive plants are having on the natural plant communities of the watershed of the GTM NERR by purchasing a “tool shed” of equipment and supplies to support the eradication work of members and volunteers of a new GTM NERR Watershed Invasive Plant Eradication Task Force.

The Nature Conservancy has awarded a $10,000 grant to aid the Florida Scrub-Jay Conservation Program Fund which supports the Friends of the GTM Reserve and the GTM NERR’s effort in restoring 239 acres of coastal scrub within the GTM NERR property.
The GTM NERR was established as a partnership between the state of Florida and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The reserve is one of 27 research reserves operating across the nation and one of three in the state. DEP’s Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas (CAMA) manages the three National Estuarine Research Reserves in Florida along with 41 aquatic preserves, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Coral Reef Conservation Program.

CAMA's programs and activities are designed to help Floridians better understand and conserve the state's resources through research, education and preservation. For more information on the GTM NERR visit www.floridadep.org/gtm. For more information on DEP's CAMA, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal

Trends, changes, World Series make for one hot season: an open letter from Patricia Behnke of FFWCC
Our wildlife suffered through a cold winter in Florida. We also endured a steamy June. What does it all mean? The temperatures were below normal during the winter and above normal in the spring. It’s not rocket science, it’s not static, and it is impossible to draw conclusions about climate change with just a few weeks’ worth of data.

Yet that’s what many of us do when it comes to climate change. Either side could “prove” the other side wrong based on the weather that occurred over the past six months. Both would be wrong, because that’s not how scientifically meaningful predictions are made.

For example the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 15-3 recently. This stellar win has little to do with the Pirates overall season. One game does not a World Series winner make, just as one cold January does not a trend make.

Dr. Thomas Eason, deputy director of the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), goes to the water to make his point about trends.

“Think of the ebb and flow of high tide at the beach. Even though the tide overall is rising, each individual wave may be smaller or larger. At any point in time, you could be standing in knee-deep or ankle-deep water, but after a few hours, you would be in chest-deep water,” he said. “Climate change is about 30-year-plus trends that will have smaller trends within them.”

Climate is the average of weather conditions, and seasonal scales are examined to determine how one season compares to the other seasons in the past. Timescales used for making predictions are based on models over decades and centuries.

“The long-term data solidly point to a warming climate, whether looking at centuries or decades,” Eason said. “However, what happened in the past winter or what happens this summer only tells us what took place in that season. It’s the addition of those data to the overall trend that will matter to the scientists attempting to model climate change, and it will matter to the fish and wildlife that will have to respond to those changing conditions.”

The studies point to humans playing a direct role in the changes, most notably since the beginning of the Industrial Age. Other natural factors also are a consideration. El Niño, with its warming trends, affects weather around the globe, as does La Niña, bringing in colder winds during the winter. In the Atlantic, natural changes in wind and sea temperatures create a change in hurricane frequency.

“A changing climate has existed since pre-Columbian times, yet fish and wildlife science has treated climate as something that is static,” Eason said. “However, we are now forced to confront this fallacy and move into a dynamic-state mindset when thinking about managing fish and wildlife.”

Climate is determined by the amount of energy escaping and entering earth. NOAA reports that since the dawn of the Industrial Age, we have seen an abundance of atmospheric greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning and deforestation. Since 1750, carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent, which is higher than seen in 420,000 years.

All of this added together means our climate is changing – some of it naturally, some of it manmade. More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Nothing endures but change.” Maybe it’s time to understand this concept and be prepared for anything.

Dr. Jean Brennan, with the Defenders of Wildlife and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, spoke at the FWC’s 2008 climate change summit and stressed Florida’s vulnerability to climate change. She advised that wildlife will not be able to adapt as quickly as the climate changes and will do one of three things: shift range, adapt or face extinction.

By looking at the overall trends in climate that have occurred during the past 50 years in Florida and modeling potential future changes, we can plan flexible strategies to assist wildlife as habitat ranges shift, and we can help them adapt. But we cannot sit by and idly discuss the coldest winter as a way to debunk climate change; nor can we attest to global warming because of a hotter than usual June.

Brennan stressed the development of a roadmap “that will be essential to ensuring that Florida’s fish and wildlife survive until we are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – the driver of the climate change impacts.”

Since change is inevitable, we can change a habit or two that might lessen our impact upon the earth. If it saves an animal from extinction, then who cares about one little baseball game? We will have won the whole World Series.

World's biggest freshwater fish threatened by dams on Mekong
Wild populations of the iconic Mekong giant catfish will be driven to extinction if hydropower dams planned for the Mekong River go ahead, says a new report by WWF.

The report, River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong, profiles four giant fish living in the Mekong that rank within the top 10 largest freshwater fish on the planet. At half the length of a bus and weighing up to 600kgs, the Mekong River's Giant freshwater stingray is the world's largest freshwater fish. The critically endangered and culturally fabled Mekong giant catfish ranks third at up to 3 meters in length and 350kgs.

Read the full story

Global Warming and Climate Change

Marmots growing in size and number due to climate change
Longer summers are causing large mountain rodents called marmots to grow larger as well as improving their survival rates, according to a 33-year study published today in Nature.

The research, carried out by scientists at Imperial College London and collaborators in the UK and USA, looked at a population of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), which are large ground-dwelling ‘squirrels' that live at around 3000 meters in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Regional changes in the climate have created longer summers and have led to marmots waking up earlier from hibernation, giving them more time to reproduce and gain weight before the next hibernation period. The study shows that the marmots are growing fatter and healthier as a result. Longer summers also mean that individual marmots are reproducing earlier and their offspring are more likely to survive the upcoming winter, so the marmot population is increasing in size.

To read the article and to see photos, click here

Energy

Oil spill calls for action
In the wake of the recent disastrous oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller has called on government agencies to act proactively to protect the Great Lakes.

Miller, R-Harrison Township, Michigan, has sent a request to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to expand investigations of Enbridge Energy's Line 6B pipeline spill, to include locations near the St. Clair River. [The St. Clair River runs between Lake Huron and Lake Erie and is part of the Detroit River/ Lake St. Clair system.]

The letters, dated Tuesday, state Line 6B -- source of the July 26 spill into the Kalamazoo River -- was found to have more than 200 anomalies between mileposts 650 and 753 in June 2009. Instead of making necessary repairs, the energy company chose to operate the pipeline at a reduced pressure, the letters stated.

The anomalies have not been repaired, the letters stated. While the pipeline section that caused the spill is at the 608 milepost, the sections with anomalies are in closer proximity to the St. Clair River.

"I don't want to wait until we have an incident," Miller said. "Not to be an alarmist, but let's be proactive and make sure (Enbridge) is addressing the anomalies they need to."
Miller sits on the House Railroads and Pipelines subcommittee, and said the panel anticipates a hearing on the situation.

Company submits new plan to restart oil pipeline
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — A Canadian company whose pipeline spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a southern Michigan waterway has filed a revised plan to restart operations.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the U.S. Pipelines and Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration has received the plan from Enbridge Inc.Enbridge’s original plan was shot down earlier in the week.It is not known when the pipeline running from Griffith, Ind. to Sarnia, Ontario will restart.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company estimates 820,000 gallons of oil leaked near Marshall, just east of Battle Creek. Federal officials say the leak could have been more than 1 million gallons. Much of the oil went into the Kalamazoo River.The cause of the spill is still under investigation.

Station leaks gas into Belle River
Fifty to 100 gallons of gasoline traveled about a quarter-mile through a storm drain before dumping into the Belle River early Wednesday, forcing emergency crews to scramble to contain the fuel and limit the environmental impact.

Emergency crew members said they quickly placed booms in the river downstream from Newark Road to absorb the fuel and contain it. However, the pungent smell of gasoline and a hazy sheen still covered the water hours after the 6:15 a.m. spill.

Renee Corbett, who lives east of the river on Newark Road in Imlay Township, ran through the fumes on her morning jog. "It's scary to have oil leaks this often, especially this close," said the 36-year-old, referring to recent incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and Michigan's Kalamazoo River.

The fuel made its way to the river from Spencer BP, 2015 South Cedar St., Imlay City.
Imlay City Assistant Fire Chief Rick Horton said an alarm went off at the gas station just north of Interstate 69 after a sump pump above an underground storage tank malfunctioned.

Imlay City Police Chief John Stano said in a statement Wednesday afternoon the cause of the spill is being investigated.

Firefighters found a large amount of gasoline in the parking lot, according to the statement. Gas station employees had turned off the gas pumps and were taking measurements to try to stop the fuel from entering the storm drain, which leads to the Belle River about a quarter-mile away.

Horton said the environmental impact of the spill was the biggest concern. He said drinking-water quality was not affected by the leak.

[Editors Note:] The Belle River winds through many miles of southern Michigan and empties into the St. Clair River which is a link to Lake Erie through the Detroit River/Lake St. Clair system. Without prompt action, spills of this nature, however small, could easily contaminate the Great Lakes. In a twist of irony, the station is a BP station.]

Business had past violations
The BP service station involved in the Belle River gasoline spill Wednesday last was inspected by state officials in April 2008, when violations were noted, state officials said.

Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, wrote Wednesday in an e-mail that exact details of those violations were not available.
Because the files were not "red tagged," the violations likely were corrected and no longer are outstanding, she wrote.

Officials said 50 to 100 gallons of fuel spilled from the gas station into a storm drain and into the Belle River.

Thom Spencer of Spencer Oil, which owns the station at 2015 South Cedar St., did not return phone calls.

Land Conservation

DEP Releases Brownfields Program Annual Report
TALLAHASSEE - The Department recently released the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program 2009 Annual Report. Submitted each year to the Governor, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, the report describes DEP’s progress and level of activity in implementing the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Act established in 1997. The report documents the Program’s continued success in revitalizing brownfield areas despite current economic challenges.

“The Florida Brownfields Program empowers communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse brownfields,” said Mimi Drew, DEP Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs. “The program has created nearly 30,000 new direct and indirect jobs and resulted in almost $1.68 billion of capital investment over the last 11 years.”

Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of environmental pollution. There are now 252 brownfield areas designated statewide.

Highlights for the period from January 2009 through June 2010 include:

Twenty municipalities and county governments approved local resolutions that designated 24 additional brownfield areas.

Eighteen brownfield site rehabilitation agreements were executed, bringing the program total to 146.

Ten brownfield sites completed cleanup of contamination. Thirty-five brownfield sites have completed cleanup since inception of the program.

DEP received 43 tax credit applications, totaling almost $5 million for site rehabilitation work completed at brownfields sites in 2009.

From January 2009 through June 2010, 2,336 new direct jobs, 3,392 new indirect jobs, and nearly $387 million in new capital investment were attributable to the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program.

The Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Program utilizes economic and regulatory incentives to encourage the use of private revenue to clean up and redevelop sites, create new jobs and enhance the local economy.

To view the report, please visit: www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/brownfields/default.htm.

Scaled-down Everglades plan would secure 27K acres
A historic effort to restore the dying Florida Everglades was scaled back yet again Wednesday, meaning the amount of land that will be purchased for protection is now about one-ninth the size originally planned.

The modified contract between the state and U.S. Sugar Corp. made public calls for an initial land purchase of 26,791 acres for about $197.4 million, a fraction of the deal announced by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.

The state had planned to pay $1.75 billion to buy all of U.S. Sugar ' s 180,000 acres. Under the revised deal, it would still maintain the option to purchase the remainder of the plan.

"The intent on both sides is still to complete the total 180,000 acres of land," said Judy Sanchez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sugar. "You have to take the first step. You can’t get to the end game without several steps along the way."

Though severely scaled back, the deal still garnered praise from some environmentalists.

"I like this deal because it’s doable," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida. "It’s more important that we do something now than spending another year arguing about how big and how much."

The South Florida Water Management District is scheduled to vote on the new contract Aug. 12. It would then need to be approved by U.S. Sugar’s board.

The Everglades have been dying for decades from the intrusion of farms and development, dissected by dikes, dams and canals, effectively draining much of the swamp and polluting it with fertilizers and urban runoff. The state and federal governments' efforts to restore the wetlands have been stymied for years by funding shortfalls, legal challenges and political bickering.

Florida CFO Sink has released the following statement commending the revised agreement between U.S. Sugar and the South Florida Water Management District
“I commend the proposed revised land deal between U.S. Sugar and the South Florida Water Management District, and think it is more fiscally responsible in these challenging economic times.

“Because the SFWMD is using existing resources, no debt will be incurred and South Florida residents will not face property tax increases. The lands identified for purchase will also have a direct impact on improving water quality, addressing concerns raised in recent federal court decisions. And given my own advocacy of transparency and accountability in government, I compliment the SFWMD for posting the contract online to assure citizens are given accessible information in this process.

“I am pleased that the proposed agreement will allow the SFWMD to continue on with other critical missions throughout the Everglades, and will provide flexibility and options for Everglades restoration efforts in the future.

“Florida must continue its decades-long commitment to restoring the Everglades in partnership with the federal government, and this proposed deal takes our state in that important direction.”

As a statewide elected officer of the Florida Cabinet, CFO Alex Sink oversees the Department of Financial Services. A successful business leader with nearly three decades of experience in the private sector, Sink is serving her first term as Florida's CFO. CFO Sink's priorities include using her business experience to cut wasteful spending, holding government accountable to Florida’s taxpayers, and cracking down on financial and insurance fraud.

Miscellaneous

FWC cracks down on illegal Internet sales
In our technologically advanced society, we have a lot of advantages and conveniences. Unfortunately, technological advancements can also provide an avenue for law violators. Online businesses that deal in the wildlife trade are an increasing concern for Florida’s law enforcement agencies.

With merely a laptop, garage and mailbox, anyone can open a business dealing in Florida’s wildlife. These businesses could be exchanging dangerous species, such as conditional snakes and lizards, or venomous reptiles, which are a serious public-safety concern. Also, if released into the wild, these nonnative species can pose a threat to indigenous wildlife. The Internet needs to be monitored to protect Florida’s natural resources from exploitation.

Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is aware of this issue and has an effective tool on its side: the Internet Crimes Unit.

The unit, a part of the FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement, is experiencing tremendous success. In the past six months, seven hard-working undercover officers have made 151 arrests and issued 51 warnings through covert Internet operations. This technique is one of the latest evolving technologies to combat illegal captive wildlife sales.

Legitimate businesses that follow FWC captive wildlife regulations are safe for the public and the environment. However, the FWC has uncovered many illegal businesses throughout the state. The presence of these illegal businesses undermines legitimate companies. Legal wildlife trade businesses obtain the appropriate permits from the FWC and operate safely, and these businesses are the ones with the right to operate in this state.

The Internet Crimes Unit uses investigative measures that supplement our traditional face-to-face efforts. These online methods are effective in enhancing public safety, continuing conservation efforts, combating invasive species and ensuring fair business practices.

One case in Central Florida has even led to investigations into six other states. The case involves a particularly large illegal import/export business that was shut down last year. FWC investigators are continuing to examine it, and six people have been charged with 121 criminal violations so far.

The FWC remains active in its conservation efforts. Its Division of Law Enforcement is not only able to react to conservation issues, but, through efforts like the Internet Crimes Unit, it is protecting Florida’s future by pursuing proactive measures. The Internet Crimes Unit is actively working to protect our state by tracking down Internet crimes at their source.

You can also help the FWC in its conservation endeavors. To report wildlife law violations, visit MyFWC.com/Violation or call 888-404-FWCC (3922).

Unlocking secrets of Antarctic octopus venom
Dr Bryan Fry is trying to discover why octopus venom can work in such cold temperatures and why it is still effective, even at sub-zero temperatures

Researchers have collected venom from octopuses in Antarctica for the first time, significantly advancing our understanding of the properties of venom as a potential resource for drug-development.

The study, conducted by an international team of researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Norwegian University of Technology and Science and the University of Hamburg, provides the first insight into the properties of Antarctic octopus venom. It has also revealed the existence of four new species of octopus.

Venom has long been recognized as a potentially valuable resource for drug development. But it was not until recently that scientists discovered the unique properties of venom from cephalopods such as octopuses, cuttlefish and squid - especially the species that live in sub-zero temperatures.

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Fish that holds its breath all day
Scientists have discovered that a unique fish species has adapted to a hostile environment poisonous to most other organisms, managing to survive in an oxygen-free environment.

The Benguela-goby, or bearded goby, is found only on the anoxic continental shelf outside Namibia and South-Africa, but since the collapse of the sardine fisheries, this goby has become the new predominant prey species for larger fish, birds and mammals in the region.

Scientists from Norway, South Africa and Namibia have discovered how this little survivor copes in an environment that kills other fish. About 9,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf off Namibia lack oxygen, as a result of a thick layer of rotting mud. Methane gas and hydrogen sulphide build up in the sediment, causing frequent gas eruptions that strip the entire water-column of oxygen.

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Conservation artist’s Florida shot selected for Federal Duck Stamp cachet
David Moynihan’s sun-drenched photograph of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is helping protect Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast wetlands.

The conservation photographer from Crawfordville, who works part-time for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), attended a press event earlier this week in Memphis, where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service thanked him for allowing the agency to use his photo on the first-of-its-kind, special edition Federal Duck Stamp cachet (envelope).

The decorative envelope will be sold to conservationists, hunters, birders, the general public and those who collect Federal Duck Stamps, officially known as Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps.

“I was happy to be able to contribute in yet another small way toward healing the Gulf and protecting her shores,” Moynahan said on his David Moynahan Photography blog, which is filled with samples of his stunning photography.

The special envelope sells for $25, which is $10 more than the standard duck stamps. The funds will be used to acquire wetlands for inclusion in national wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast. Duck stamps have been a conservation tradition since 1934.

Students Dive the Keys, Experience the Beauty and Learn about Ocean Policy
Some middle school and high school students from the Tampa Bay area recently returned from a scientific research and dive training expedition to the Florida Keys that they’re not likely to soon forget. The students are members of the Teen Research Underwater Explorers (TRUE) dive team – a non-profit volunteer organization based in St. Petersburg. TRUE promotes marine science, active stewardship and conservation of our oceans and coasts to students through hands-on experiences, building citizenship and leadership capabilities for future generations.

Upon arriving in the Keys the student divers learned about underwater navigation methods and search and rescue techniques from instructors at the U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations Combat School, where they bunked during their stay. They also received training in reef fish identification from the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) staff in Key Largo and learned about the BleachWatch program and methods used by staff at Mote Marine Lab on Summerland Key to monitor coral reef bleaching. Students also compiled data for the BleachWatch programs at Looe Key Sanctuary and 9 Foot Stake in Key West, as well as for the Great Annual Fish Count.

In June, the TRUE dive team visited Washington D.C. for Capitol Hill Ocean Week where the students were recognized at the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s 10th Annual Leadership Awards Dinner for their outreach efforts and volunteerism in marine education and conservation. The group was privileged to also meet the world-renowned Cousteau family -- there to celebrate the anniversary of Jacques Cousteau’s 100th birthday. While in Washington, students met with Senator Bill Nelson and Representative C.W. Bill Young of Florida and Representative Gene Taylor of Mississippi to gain insight to the inter-workings of the U.S. Government, specifically as it relates to Ocean Policy.

In August, working on a grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, TRUE explorers will venture on a research trip to Key Largo where they will perform night dives to document the spawning of the threatened Elkhorn and Staghorn coral species.

TRUE’s science leadership includes volunteers from various agencies including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University Of South Florida College Of Marine Science and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. For more information on TRUE, visit www.TRUEdiveteam.org.

FWC chairman praises Sen. Bill Nelson’s bill
A bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson is drawing praise from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Chairman Rodney Barreto said the bill (S. 3594) would amend the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to keep federal fisheries on a steady path to rebuilding.

“All seven FWC commissioners sincerely appreciate Sen. Nelson’s leadership and help in trying to modify provisions of the act that place inflexible standards and tight deadlines on our fishing industry and coastal communities,” Barreto said.

He said the bill would enable managers to maintain a high conservation standard for fisheries while offering flexibility and time to rebuild without causing devastating economic harm.

Alcatraz Island
Most Americans are familiar with Alcatraz Island as the former home of infamous criminals such as Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. They might not realize that before it housed a prison, the island was used by the military during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. In addition, the island was the site of a 19-month American Indian occupation that commenced in November 1969. Alcatraz Island become part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972, and it opened to the public the following year.

NPCA's Center for State of the Parks recently completed an assessment of Alcatraz Island's cultural resources, as well as an overview of the population status and management of the island's western gulls. Read the full report to learn more about the challenges the Park Service faces in caring for Alcatraz Island's cultural and natural resources, as well as the work being done to protect those resources into the future.

DEP and Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Come Together for the Environment and Safety
SPRINGHILL – The Department's Easy As One campaign coordinated with Hernando County Sheriff’s Office to host its third regional collection event at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Springhill, Florida. At the event, more than 1,300 pounds of paper were shredded and recycled by ProShred Security; more than 1,400 retail plastic bags were collected and recycled by Wal-Mart; more than 100 used cell phones and 230 chargers were collected and donated to a good cause and more than 2,100 bottles of unwanted or expired prescription and over-the-counter medicines were gathered for safe and proper disposal.

“This event is an illustration of how easy individual actions can collectively produce a dynamic impact on environmental and societal well being,” said DEP Deputy Secretary Mimi Drew. “The prevention of thousands of plastic bags, numerous expired or unwanted medications and hundreds of pounds of paper from reaching the waste stream protects our environment; while the donation of unwanted cell phones and chargers benefits worthy charities.”

Wastewater systems are not designed to remove many types of medications. Residents can contaminate groundwater supply and drinking water by flushing drugs down the toilet or pouring medications down the sink. All of the drugs collected from today’s event will remain in the custody of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office until they are destroyed properly by incineration.

"Improper disposal of medicine has potential environmental, health and safety risks," said Sheriff Richard B. Nugent of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. "This event established a simple way for residents to safely remove potentially dangerous medicine from their homes and prevent it from contaminating our water."

People who brought 15 or more bags for recycling received a reusable shopping bag donated by Wal-Mart. Those who donated a cell phone or charger, recycled paper or brought medicines for disposal received a day pass to any Florida State Park.

For those who were unable to attend the event, many retail grocery stores have implemented plastic bag recycling programs to make recycling easy for their shoppers.

To find a plastic bag recycling location, go to www.abagslife.com. Visit www.Earth911.com for information on recycling paper and many other items such as computer monitors, toner cartridges and televisions.

DEP offers information on how to dispose of unwanted medications.

Easy As One - Ordinary actions-Extraordinary results. is an environmental awareness campaign by DEP that highlights easy actions each one of us can take to make sustainable practices part of our daily lives at home, at school, at work and at play. As the lead agency in state government for environmental management and stewardship, DEP encourages citizens to adopt green habits that protect Florida’s air and water quality, conserve water and reduce waste. A sustainable Florida depends on the collective efforts of citizens, groups, businesses, industry and government.

For more information on Easy As One visit the blog, www.dep.state.fl.us/EasyAsOne. Follow on Twitter www.twitter.com/EasyAsOne.

For more information on the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office visit www.hernandosheriff.org.

Images from the event are available at: www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/events/eao.htm.